1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accelerating the opening of a relief valve. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for enhancing the rapidity of opening a relief valve in response to measured overpressure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Relief valves are used for processes involving flow to ensure that excessive system pressures will not cause major failures in the system. Typical relief valve control systems are used to control the relief valves associated with mud pumps on drilling rigs. These pumps are high powered and deliver fluids at high flow rates and delivery pressures.
Starting a pump against a closed valve or a plugged line will invariably result in major damage to the system unless the relief valve for the mud system opens extremely quickly. The currently available relief valves for mud systems are slow to open, so that failures often occur.
Currently used mud pumps accelerate rapidly and can quickly fill any damping accumulators and excessively pressurize the system before conventional relief valves can react to relieve the excessive pressures. Reaction times of less than 0.5 second are needed for mud pump relief valves. Even with the rapid measurement of system pressure, valve mechanical response times for existing valves are excessive.
A need exists for improved means to rapidly open mud system relief valves.